"The number of these Honkai Beasts, how is this possible…"
"Not even the Sixth Honkai Eruption saw this many Honkai Beasts at once. What exactly is..."
Lin dragged his still-inconvenient body with a wooden expression, shuffling past and ignoring the voices spreading panic, like a rat scurrying across a busy street.
During his time unconscious, the outside world had undergone drastic changes.
Half of Australia's landmass was scorched and consumed by eternal flames. The Seventh Herrscher used the most horrifying fire in human history to level the Australian surface, extinguishing the lives of sixteen million people.
If the Sixth Herrscher was the most unique Herrscher in terms of anthropomorphism, the Seventh Herrscher's destructive power was unprecedentedly strong. No weapon attempted by the Fire Moth could stop her advance. Her power, like the bright moon in the night sky, emitted a despairing brilliance.
But the birth of the Seventh Herrscher was not the only disaster.
Lin entered the R&D department. He didn't look at this bustling, crowded place, but walked directly to someone's office door.
The door was left slightly ajar, as if deliberately waiting for him.
Without a moment's hesitation, Lin pushed the door open.
"Clack." He locked the door behind him.
Including him, there were three people in the room, but the layout was completely different from their previous meeting.
Before, they formed a triangle, allowing each person to see the others completely.
Now, the white-haired man stood behind the bespectacled doctor, and Lin stood opposite these two.
They might have simply continued staring at each other, but Mei quickly broke her silence.
"...In seventy-two hours, a force consisting of a total of two hundred Titans was annihilated in Australia. Simultaneously eliminated were the three squads dispatched, and the Australian national army."
"The Seventh Herrscher's high temperature rendered the materials of conventional weapons completely untenable. Her Authority involves molecular-level manipulation, not just ordinary heat."
Mei spoke calmly, as if oblivious to the strange atmosphere between them, pushing up her glasses and recounting the current situation... or rather, the catastrophe.
"Within twenty-four hours after the Seventh Herrscher began her activity, Emperor-class Honkai Beasts began appearing globally in large numbers. The preliminary estimate is around five thousand, and the number is still increasing. According to the Previous Civilization's Herrscher of Reason, those are Starlights that secretly landed and concealed themselves among humanity after their initial crash. Some regions are starting to be assimilated by the Starlight."
"Eleven hours after the Starlight began its activity, they discovered the location of the Fire Moth Headquarters. Currently, some Honkai Beasts are already attacking the Headquarters. The frontline can resist for approximately thirty-seven hours."
The Titan forces and Armed Dolls deployed to intercept the Starlight were easily destroyed this time. They demonstrated the evolutionary learning ability they showed when studying human language. Titans, which were already obsolete technology to them, caused little harm after being analyzed.
The only reason they hadn't yet used their own technology to attack was their desire to assimilate humanity.
Before humanity could react, the Herrscher and the Starlight had struck with lightning speed, crushing them.
"Now, the Fire Moth only has one option."
"The Fusion Soldier Plan."
Mei spoke as if discussing matters unrelated to her.
And Lin listened as if hearing unrelated matters.
As Lin was leaving, Kevin, who had been standing silently with a cold face, suddenly spoke to Lin, who was opening the door with his back to him: "I killed the Previous Civilization's Herrscher of Reason."
"…"
"She wanted to retrieve the Herrscher Core and refused the Fire Moth' surveillance, so I killed her. Her Soulium corpse has been contained by Mei. You..."
"Whatever it is, we'll talk after this major Honkai Eruption ends."
Lin seemed to be fleeing from something. He said nothing more and left the place.
Leaving the place that coated a part of his heart with frost.
...
"Now the Fusion Soldier Plan needs a volunteer, but since this is the first Project Soldier Surgery, the success rate... is virtually zero."
"It is tantamount to praying for a miracle to happen."
"You're right, I should also continue moving forward; I shouldn't stagnate."
"As for what comes next—marriage, or something else—it doesn't matter. I'll keep going, and I'll find it eventually. Seeing you youngsters grow up is already satisfying enough for me."
"Oh, right, Lin. When we go back..."
"I killed the Previous Civilization's Herrscher of Reason."
Inhale, exhale.
Inhale—
"Captain..."
He looked up and saw the numb face of Hua.
"Captain Himeko, she became a Herrscher, right?"
Where was the answer?
Lin should have calmly told Hua, just as Kevin had done moments ago, that yes, Himeko had become a Herrscher, just as Seele had become a Herrscher.
But he didn't speak.
Because Hua already knew. She wasn't asking for confirmation.
Lin left before the look in Hua's eyes could change.
...
Before going to Mobius's lab, Lin went to the cemetery.
He hadn't been here for a long time, nor had he immersed himself in the world of the dead for a long time.
It was silent, like another world.
"...According to Article 41 of the Fire Moth regulations, entry into the cemetery is prohibited during a major Honkai Eruption."
Prometheus quietly walked up beside him. Her poker face looked even colder in the dim environment.
"Lin, please do not violate the regulations."
"…"
Did the Fire Moth have this regulation?
He didn't know. His superior memory couldn't confirm this regulation, nor could he be sure whether Prometheus was making it up.
He originally intended to bring two people here after returning to Headquarters.
One was Himeko, the other was MSA-970.
Himeko should move toward the future, and MSA-970 should move toward a new life, starting from the cemetery, which represented memory and death.
But the Honkai never seemed to grant hope.
So, should he stagnate here?
...No.
Humans are always like this: carrying pain and still moving forward.
Now, it was just happening again.
...
After the helmeted man walked into the lab, Mobius stopped her busy work. She silently tidied up the items on her desk, gave some instructions to Klein and the others, and then walked into her private lab.
She closed the door and observed Lin.
Something had changed.
Just as Lin changed months ago after surviving the Sixth Honkai Eruption, he had changed again now, reverting to the appearance she was so familiar with, so much that she hated it.
Silent, cold, and rigid.
She truly did not want to hear what he was about to say.
"I want to undergo the Project Soldier Surgery."
See? She didn't want to hear it at all.